Bragging Rights
by Whisperwill
Summary: Two Padawans set out to win a game that doesn't exactly follow the Jedi Code.  One shot.


**Disclaimer: Although I love _Star Wars_, that doesn't mean I don't own _Star Wars, _nor do I own Fe Sun or the _Clone Wars_ comics. Although I'm a fan of money, that doesn't mean I'm making money off this story.**

**A/N: Originally published December 28, 2009. (What was I doing around Christmastime besides writing, I wonder?) Please review! Did I do the various Jedi and Padawans justice?**

**Bragging Rights**

Two Padawans sat across from each other at a table in one of the Temple's Rooms of Meditation. One was a female Sorlan with long hair that looked perpetually windblown: Fe Sun. The other Padawan was a male Human with the look of one who was starting to leave boyhood behind and become a man: Anakin Skywalker. Both of them had risen rapidly through the preliminary rounds of a game that the apprentices called Best Master. Now it was the final round, and they were the only two Padawans left.

"The other Padawans say you are not truthful, Anakin," Fe Sun said teasingly. "They say you turn cloud cars into starfighters, and starfighters into gunships, so that you can win." Her eyes baited him to admit it.

Anakin cast her an injured look. "Then _they_ lie. Everything I've said is the truth." His eyes dared her to contradict him. Instead, she chose to continue the game.

"Ever speak another language besides Basic?" she ventured.

Anakin smirked. "Yes—_both_ of us can do that."

"Oh, really?" she asked with a grin. "Which ones?"

"I speak Huttese; Obi-Wan speaks Twi'leki."

"Fair enough," she admitted, shrugging. "All right, then—ever fight more than a dozen Togorian pirates . . . and win?"

"Yes. What Jedi hasn't?" Anakin pointed out. He was starting to get impatient. Fe Sun was drawing out the game to enjoy it, but as far as he was concerned, he only wanted to hurry up and win. Finally she came to the challenge he couldn't yet match.

"Ever been on the Council?" she asked smugly.

Anakin rolled his eyes. "You've used that one to get through all the rounds," he protested.

"But it works, doesn't it?" Fe Sun pointed out delightedly.

"Yes, it works," he grumbled. "But you can't win with it this time." Play switched to him now, and he was really going to impress her with this one.

"Really?" Now Fe's interest was aroused. "You have something better?" She sounded skeptical, but her eyes sparkled eagerly as she waited for Anakin to speak.

"As a matter of fact, I do." Anakin looked her straight in the eye and challenged, "Ever battle a Sith?"

Fe's jaw dropped. "I . . . that's . . ." she stammered. After taking a moment to collect herself, she shook her head with a frown. "That's not true."

"It's as true as the Force," Anakin corrected her confidently. He was about to reign supreme among the Temple apprentices.

"What in the _galaxy_ do you Padawans think you're doing?"

The shout of his Master from behind him caused Anakin to jump with surprise and hastily turn around. Masters Obi-Wan Kenobi and Shaak Ti stood before him. Master Ti looked quiet and almost sad. Obi-Wan had his hands on his hips and an angry frown on his face.

"Fe Sun." Shaak Ti spoke first, her voice quiet, disappointed. "If I cannot let you out of my sight without worrying what trouble you'll get into, then I will have to treat you like a youngling rather than a Padawan." Anakin glanced back at Fe, whose face had fallen at her Master's reproval.

"Forgive me, Master," she whispered. "I will not disappoint you again."

"I have faith that you won't," Master Ti replied graciously. Now it was Master Obi-Wan's turn. Anakin bit his lip and waited for the outburst.

"I turn my back on you for a few minutes," Obi-Wan burst out, frustration edging every word, "and the next I know, you're telling tales to a fellow Padawan. What have I told you about bragging, Anakin? It is _not_ the Jedi way. And _lying_? Haven't you learned by now that the Temple is a place for finding truth, and not hiding it?"

"So it's not true," Fe murmured disappointedly from behind Anakin.

"What?" Anakin was bewildered. "No—no, it _is_."

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan said in his or-else voice. "Do _not_ continue in your lie."

"What?" Anakin asked again, blankly. "But Master—"

"Do not test the limits of my patience, Padawan," Obi-Wan warned him. "You've never even _seen_ a Sith, much less battled one."

"_Me_?" Anakin looked at his Master in surprise. "But Master, I wasn't talking about _me_. I was talking about _you_." Obi-Wan opened his mouth, then closed it without saying anything. For the first time in all the time Anakin had known him, Obi-Wan seemed to be at a loss for words.

"Then it _is_ true?" Fe blurted out. She stared, awestruck, at Obi-Wan. "Master Kenobi battled a _Sith_?"

"_And_ killed him, _while_ he was still an apprentice," Anakin boasted.

"Anakin . . ." Obi-Wan muttered, embarrassed.

Shaak Ti brought the conversation down to earth before it could balloon into conceit. "Bragging about your Master's accomplishments is no more excusable than bragging about your own," she said firmly. "The Jedi do not flaunt what they have done or what they can do. This is not our way." She smiled faintly at Master Kenobi. "I believe our Padawans must clear their minds and refocus themselves."

"Indeed," Obi-Wan agreed, businesslike once more. "Shall we test their skills in a lightsaber match?"

"A fine idea, Master Kenobi," Shaak said approvingly.

Anakin didn't at all like the idea, though. While he was nearing the intermediate stages of his learning under Obi-Wan, he knew that Fe was on the cusp of Knighthood. It would be an uneven match. "Master—" he protested.

"It's decided, Anakin. You'll spar with Fe Sun," Obi-Wan cut in flatly. He folded his arms. "Unless, of course, you'd rather battle me."

Anakin ducked his head and activated his lightsaber. Given a choice like that, well, the choice was obvious. He strode out to the clear space in the center of the room and waited for Fe to join him. Master Ti glanced from one Padawan to the other thoughtfully, then pulled a cloth from inside her robe.

"Fe Sun, Anakin is a younger apprentice, and not as advanced as you are in his lightsaber skills," Shaak Ti murmured while fastening the fabric to cover Fe's eyes. "And you, my Padawan, have need of practice without your eyes. Remember, use your eyes, your ears, taste, smell, touch—but always the Force, which is always with you, within you." Fe nodded solemnly and lit her lightsaber. She approached Anakin uncertainly, her head cocked to catch the hum of his weapon. Anakin brought his saber around to crash against hers, and they began to spar, circling each other. Over the clash of the colliding lightsabers, Anakin couldn't resist asserting his victory.

"So, _who_ has the best Master?" he gloated while parrying an uppercut from Fe Sun.

"_Anakin_!" Obi-Wan barked from where he stood watching with Shaak Ti. "Keep your focus where it should be!" He sighed and massaged his beard self-consciously. "I apologize for my Padawan," he muttered to Master Ti.

"For Jedi to be braggarts, about themselves or anyone else, is unacceptable," Shaak Ti declared disapprovingly. "But, if it were . . ." She looked askance at him and smiled suddenly. ". . . I think Best Master would be quite a fitting title for you, Master Kenobi."

And so it was that Obi-Wan Kenobi found himself speechless for the second time that day.

***The End***

**A/N: Fe Sun is a Padawan whose name appears briefly in the _Clone Wars_ comics. I invented a race for her and tried to stay true to the character I believed she would be. But mostly I just like Shaak Ti. :)**


End file.
